Temple of the Winds

The general hiked up his trousers. "I agree with Reibisch. I'd want to do the same if I were him. He's already down there, why not put him to good use? As he says, it would be best to know what the Order is up to, and if the enemy does come up north to attack us, he will be in a position to bite their ass." He winced. "Sorry, Mother Confessor."

Kahlan smiled. "My father was a warrior, general, before he was king. It brings back memories." She didn't say if they were good memories. "I also agree about the strategic advantage of having an army in that position."

Cara handed the letter back to Richard. "He's right about one other thing, too. If he abandons his position, and the Order went to the northeast, they would be able to sweep into D'Hara unopposed. We wouldn't even know about it. That part of D'Hara is sparsely populated. The Order could drive north and we would never know it until they cut west, back into the Midlands." "Unless they pushed straight for the People's Palace," the general said. "That would be a fatal mistake-attacking the heart of D'Hara," Cara said. "Commander General Trimack of the First File of the Palace Guard would show the enemy why no army has ever attacked the palace and had so much as a single soldier live to recount the tale of their bloody defeat. The cavalry would cut them to pieces out on the Azrith Plains."

"She's right," the general said. "If the enemy goes there, the vultures will feast-Trimack will see to that. If they did go northeast up into D'Hara, it would be to flank us. Best to have Reibisch guarding the gate." Richard had another reason to want General Reibisch's army to stay south. "Lord Rahl," the messenger asked, "may I ask a question?" "Of course. What is it?"

Grissom fussed with the hilt of his short sword. "What's going on in the city? I mean, I saw men hauling carts with dead people, and I saw others going through the streets calling for people to bring out their dead."

Richard took a deep breath. "That's the other reason we want General Reibisch to stay down south. The plague is loose in the Midlands. Last night, seven hundred fifty people died."

"The spirits preserve us." Grissom wiped his palms on his hips. "I was afraid it might be something like that."

"I want you to take my reply back to General Reibisch. Having been here, I don't want you to carry the plague to him, too. When you get back, you are to pass my message along verbally.

"Don't approach any of his men, or any people for that matter, any closer than you must in order to be heard. When you get to their sentries, tell them to pass the message on to the general. Tell him that I find his reasoning to be sound. All of the command here agrees with him. Tell him to carry on with his plans and to keep us informed.

"Now that you've been here, you can't return to those men. You'll have to come back here, when you've delivered the message. I want you to take a good-sized patrol with you to make sure you get our instructions through, then all of you come back here."

Grissom saluted with a fist to his heart. "It shall be as you command, Lord Rahl."

"I wish I could let you return to your men, soldier, but we're trying to keep the plague from getting to the army. We have the soldiers here spread out around the city so they don't come down sick. You can tell them that, too."

General Kerson scratched his face. "Ah, Lord Rahl, I have to talk to you about that. I just found out myself."

Richard frowned at the general's sudden wincing expression. "What is it?" "Ah. well, the plague has gotten to our men."

Richard felt his heart in his throat. "Which group?"

The general wiped a hand across his mouth. "All of them. Lord Rahl. Seems that the prostitutes have been visiting the camps. The women thought it would be safer than plying their trade in the city, what with those murders. I don't know anything about how sickness spreads, but Drefan told me that that might have been the way it happened."

Richard squeezed his temples between his thumb and second finger. He wanted to give up. He wanted to simply sit down on the floor and give up.

"I should never have had Tristan Bashkar put to death. I should have let him kill all those women. In the end, it would have saved countless lives. If I'd have known this. I'd have killed them all myself." He felt Kahlan's hand touch his back in sympathy.

"Dear spirits," he whispered. He could think of nothing else to say. "Dear spirits, what are we doing to ourselves? Those women have just unwittingly struck a blow for Jagang."

"Do you want them executed. Lord Rahl?" General Kerson asked. "No," Richard said in a quiet voice. "The deed is done. It would serve no purpose, now. They didn't do it intentionally to cause harm. They were just trying to keep themselves safe."